The Labor enquirer., 1887-01-15
How 10 Utilize 1t Without
Injuring the Honest
Workingmen.
A Congress That Would Excel
Anything We've Had for
Fifteen Years. 'l8
II the CLAW" Was Enforced There
Would Not be Guards for
the Prisoners.

For the Enquirer
| II would be an easy matter for the
federal and state governments to take
convict labor out of competi ton with
regular labor; and the only reason why
it is not done is because capitalism has
an interest in using the subdued class to
keep the others in subjection.
If convlcts we're employed on govern
ment work only they would tighten our
taxes and no longer be in competition
with the wage slaves. All work on
rivers, harbors. canals. etc., now done at
government expense and four times it's
actual cost, could be done by convicts. I.
Work on government buildings. forts,
vessels, ETC., and all government print
ing, and all furniture and upholstery
work for government buildings, could
be done by convicts. All school books,
charts, globes, etc., used by the schools
throughout the United States should be
furnished free bv the federal govern
ment, and convicts could do the work in
supplying them. The government
should furnish every child with school
books free of charge. There are many
WAYS in which the government can 6ud
sufficient and suitable employment for
all -convlcts. Much Of the abuse of pris-
oners is due to private contracts for
their labor, and this alone ought to be
sufficient reason for abolishing the pri.
vate contract system, even if t in no
manner effects outside l,borers. I'll
Judging from the character of our
legislators and their work, it would be a
move in the interest of morality and
something of a blow at monopoly and
Doodle corruption. TO let the colvicts do
all the leglslating each to occupy his
Office during the of His sentence.
An entire congress-. including cabinet
and president. could easily be selected
from the states prisons that would be
an improvement on any we have had
for the last ten o. fifteen years.
There is scarcely person on earth
above the age of twenty-one years who
would be out Of prison to-day, if each
was convicted of all the offenses he or
she has committed against the law. All
persons outside of states prison simply
represent the lucky ones. Those In
prison are the unlucky. All are guilty.
II any person doubts the above state
ment he can easily prove 1t as to him
self. All he need do is to get copy of
the criminal code of his own state and
read it privately aud as he reads each
offense and the penalty attached, he
shall in his heart inquire secretly, "Am
| guilty of this ?" he will not get through
the code before he will now that he is
only out of states prison because the
people do not know of his offenses. IN
People have been educated to see
more crime in the prisoner than in the
officer who guards him. yet it is quite
probable that there is MT one case In
hundred where the officer IS the lesser
criminal. And this is true of the judges
for not one pertln in hundred sen
fenced is so deserving of punishment as
is the judge himself, All honorable
persons at all familiar with the criminal
courts (they are rightly named }. can
not and will not dispute the truth ofthe
above statement.
Take the history of the world as q
whole and one is nearly convinced that
more noble people have suffered in
prison and died on the. gallows than
have escaped them, NH NJ 4
People are slow to see that hanging
and imprisonment are in themselves
crimes, and differ in no manner from
robbery, piracy and murder; yet suchis
the actual fact and the world is lust
catching glimpse OF the idea. g.
When the world gives up the unnec-
essarY and robber principle Of private
property and Its interest, rent and profit
attachments, then all prisons will be
nearly empty for want of victims.
Just as long as any one class of people
are allowed to set up some notion or
theory as a standard of right, and then
allowed to punish all who do not con-
form to it, just SO long will prisons he
filled and those outside will be called
innocent and those inside will be called
guilty.
| rhe existence of one offender depends
upon the xistence of the other. Abolish
private property and stealing cannot ex-
list. Convert the air into private prop
erty and instantly all will be thieves.
One crime lives by the existence of the
other. Abolish either and the other
will die itself Tear down the pflsons
and private property could not continue.
All crime and criminals are created by
the criminal law, or rather by the senti-
ment that sustains the criminal law.
Our belief that criminal law in some
measure reduces or checks crime il q
false doctrine. The author of the book
Of Revelations, so-called, said the lasl
monster TO De destroyed before the
dawn of righteousness was named
Law" N
Jesus commanded his fellows 70 visi,